Funds cut 'crazy' in view of Kyoto pact

By SIMON COLLINS science reporter

A surprise official funding decision has axed world-leading research into the rate at which trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air.

The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology has slashed Forest Research's funding for the project from $720,000 to just $110,000 a year.

Forest Research chief scientist Dr Keith Mackie said: "That virtually leaves us with half a fulltime-equivalent person, which is unsustainable."

Science Minister Pete Hodgson has asked officials to report on his options, including possibly buying the research from another budget.

The chief executive of the Forest Industries Council, James Griffiths, said the decision was absolutely crazy in view of the Government's decision in April to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which requires measuring carbon absorbed by forest "sinks" to offset the country's obligations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from cars and industry.

"New Zealand is a world leader in understanding this. Forest Research has world-leading expertise," Mr Griffiths said.

"The whole forest sink issue has been driven by NZ officials over the years, and given that there is a whole range of international negotiations regarding the treatment of forest sinks in the first and second commitment periods, I can't understand why they are not fully supporting this."

The foundation's decision to slash funding for the project was a result of research bids worth $45.6 million for the $25.9 million available for "global environmental processes and change".

Most of the money went to fundamental environmental research, including work in Antarctica where global warming is expected to be greatest.

Foundation investment operations manager Peter Benfell said Forest Research could apply for funding in another category, "sustainability", which is coming up next year.

However, Forest Research was not in a good position to keep staff in the meantime because it was a net loser overall from this year's funding round. Dr Mackie said it lost a net $1 million off its Government funding of $23 million.

It gained $1.5 million for research on plant gene technologies and another $500,000 for waste treatment technology.

It will also be a major beneficiary of a new wood quality consortium which will get around $1.5 million a year from the foundation, and $1.5 million from forestry companies, for the next five years.

But funding for another project aimed at generating energy from wood was halved from $460,000 to $240,000.

Dr Mackie said between five and seven people worked on the wood energy and carbon measuring projects, and the institute was "working through a process" on what those people could do now.

Mr Hodgson said he had asked officials to report first on how much carbon absorption measurements would be needed now that the Government had decided to keep state ownership of the Kyoto credits for new forests.

State ownership will allow the Government to use broad averages, rather than the detailed tree-by-tree measurements that would be required to set up a private market in carbon sink credits.

"So the first task is to find what the science gaps are," he said. "Then [if more research is needed] I will have to go and buy it.

"That is an issue that needs resolving, no doubt about it."

nzherald.co.nz/climate

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